Apparatus and method for managing configuration of computer systems on a computer network

ABSTRACT

A system configuration manager provides a graphical user interface that allows a system administrator to easily administer configuration settings for different computer systems and platforms on a computer network. The system configuration manager of the present invention allows identifying one system configuration or a settings profile as a “model system”. Once the model system is defined, other computer systems may be compared to the model system. Differences between the selected computer systems and the model system are then displayed, and the system configuration manager may be used to update the selected computer systems with configuration settings specified in the model system. Cross-platform support is provided by a configuration mapping mechanism that maps configuration information from one platform to corresponding configuration information for another platform. The configuration mapping mechanism effectively hides the differences between platforms by translating the configuration information from a selected platform to corresponding configuration information for the model system.

PARENT APPLICATION

This patent application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 09/879,510having the same title as this patent application, which was filed onJun. 12, 2001, and which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention generally relates to the data processing field. Morespecifically, this invention relates to configuring computer systems ina networked computing environment.

2. Background Art

Since the dawn of the computer age, computer systems have becomeindispensable in many fields of human endeavor including engineeringdesign, machine and process control, and information storage and access.In the early days of computers, companies such as banks, industry, andthe government would purchase a single computer which satisfied theirneeds, but by the early 1950's many companies had multiple computers andthe need to move data from one computer to another became apparent. Atthis time computer networks began being developed to allow computers towork together.

Networked computers are capable of performing tasks that no singlecomputer could perform. In addition, networks allow low cost personalcomputer systems to connect to larger systems to perform tasks that suchlow cost systems could not perform alone. Most companies in the UnitedStates today have one or more computer networks. The topology and sizeof the networks may vary according to the computer systems beingnetworked and the design of the system administrator. It is very common,in fact, for companies to have multiple computer networks. Many largecompanies have a sophisticated blend of local area networks (LANs) andwide area networks (WANs) that effectively connect most computers in thecompany to each other. Most existing computer networks have aclient-server architecture, where one or more server machines servicerequests from client machines (such as desktop computer systems).

Computer networks are typically managed by one or more “systemadministrators.” A system administrator is responsible for making surethe network runs smoothly. This means that a system administratortypically is responsible for many tasks, including: making hardwareupgrades, installing new software on servers, installing software onclient machines, setting security parameters for network resources, etc.

One complication for system administrators is that many modem networksinclude computer systems that run different operating systems, commonlyreferred to in the art as “platforms”. Each platform has its own uniqueoperating system. As a result, the tools for configuring a clientcomputer system are platform-specific. For example, if a systemadministrator works on a network that includes IBM zSeries computers,IBM iSeries computers, and IBM pSeries computers, the systemadministrator will have to learn the platform-specific management toolsto set system settings for each of these three platform types. Anothercomplication is that the system settings for each platform may vary innumber, type, and name. This requires a system administrator to keeptrack of which system setting on one platform corresponds to a similarsystem setting on a different platform. With the complication of manyplatforms on a network, resulting in different systems settings anddifferent tools for changing those system settings, a systemadministrator has a difficult job, indeed. Without a mechanism andmethod for administrating computer system settings for differentplatforms in a common, uniform way, the computer industry will continueto suffer from inefficient ways of administrating the system settings ofcomputer systems on computer networks.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

According to the preferred embodiments, a system configuration managerprovides a graphical user interface that allows a system administratorto easily administrate configuration settings for different platforms ona computer network. Configuration settings includes system settings aswell as customization settings that determine a variety of operationalparameters for the computer system, such as desktop appearance,application preferences and options, browser bookmarks, workloadbalancing, security settings, etc. The system configuration manager ofthe present invention allows identifying one system configuration as a“model system”. The model system may be an existing computer system onthe network, or could be an imaginary system configuration. Once themodel system is defined, other computer systems may be compared to themodel system. Differences between the selected computer systems and themodel system are then displayed, and the system configuration managermay be used to update the selected computer systems with configurationsettings specified in the model system. Cross-platform support isprovided by a configuration mapping mechanism that maps configurationsettings from one platform to corresponding configuration settings foranother platform. The configuration mapping mechanism effectively hidesthe differences between platforms by translating the configurationinformation from a selected platform to corresponding configurationinformation for the model system. The system configuration manager ofthe preferred embodiments also includes a platform-independent interfacethat includes a superset of all configuration information for allplatforms on the network. The configuration mapping mechanism then mapsthe platform-specific configuration information to theplatform-independent interface, allowing configuration information forall platforms to be displayed and managed using the system configurationmanager.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following more particular description of preferredembodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention willhereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings,where like designations denote like elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art networked computer systemshowing mechanisms for administering system settings on differentplatform types in the computer network;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a networked computer system in accordancewith the preferred embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing one suitable implementation of theconfiguration settings shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one specific implementation of centralsystem 220 of FIG. 2 in accordance with the preferred embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for managing configuration settingsin accordance with the preferred embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a graphical user interface screen that ispresented by the system configuration manager 222 of FIGS. 2 and 4 tomanage the configuration of computer systems on a network in accordancewith the preferred embodiments;

FIGS. 7-24 each show different configuration settings for an IBM iSeriescomputer system; and

FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating the function of theconfiguration mapping mechanism of FIGS. 2 and 4.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to administration of computer systems on acomputer network. For those individuals who are not generally familiarwith network administration, the Overview section below presents many ofthe concepts that will help to understand the invention.

1. Overview

Network Administration

One example of a prior art configuration 100 for network administrationis shown in FIG. 1. In this example, networked computer system 100includes a central system 120, which is a network server. Coupled to thecentral system 120 are various client computer systems. For thediscussion herein, the term “endpoint system” is used to describe anycomputer system on a network, and specifically includes computer systemsmanaged by a central system. FIG. 1 shows various different endpointsystems 130 coupled to central system 120, namely 130A, 130B, 130C, . .. , 130N. In addition, there is a workstation 110 that is used by thesystem administrator to manage the configuration of the endpoint systems130. Note that workstation 110 may also be an endpoint system.

We assume that the endpoint systems 130 include computer systems fromdifferent platform types, and that each endpoint system 130 includescorresponding system settings 140. Thus, Endpoint System #1 (130A) hascorresponding system settings 140A, and each other endpoint system 130has its corresponding system settings 140. In order to administratecomputer systems from different platform types, system administrationworkstation 110 includes a platform administration agent 112 for eachtype of platform on the computer network. If three different platformsare present on the computer network, there will be three differentplatform administration agents 112, one for each platform. There arealso platform administration applications 122 that communicate withtheir corresponding platform administration agents 112, and thatcommunicate with endpoint systems of a particular platform type on thecomputer network.

The configuration 100 of FIG. 1 can be used to illustrate theinefficiency of the prior art scheme for network administration. Let'sassume, for example, that Endpoint System #1 (130A) is an IBM iSeriescomputer system running the OS/400 operating system. Let's furtherassume that the platform #1 administration agent 1 12A and the platform#1 administration application 122A are used by a system administrator toset the system settings of endpoint system 130A. Now let's assume thatendpoint system #3 130C is a personal computer running the Windows2000operating system. There will be a different platform administrationagent 112 and corresponding platform administration application 122 toset the system settings for a Windows2000 platform. In like manner, eachplatform type on the network will have a corresponding platformadministration agent 112 and platform administration application 122.For a system administrator to be effective, he or she must learn thenetwork administration tools (i.e., agent 112) for each platform on thenetwork. There are currently no uniform conventions for naming of systemsettings, so a system administrator must also keep track of which systemsettings on one platform correspond to system settings on a differentplatform.

One of the biggest problems in the prior art as illustrated in FIG. 1 isthat administration of each endpoint system is a highly manual affair.First of all, the desired settings for each type of platform must bewritten down and stored in some form. If a system administrator suspectsthat a system setting on endpoint system #2 (130B) is incorrect, thesystem administrator must use the correct platform administration agent112 that matches the platform type of endpoint system #2 to request thatthe corresponding platform administration application 122 interrogateendpoint system #2 to determine the value for the suspect setting. Thesystem administrator examines the retrieved value for the systemsetting, compares it to the desired value, and if they differ, uses theappropriate platform administration agent 112 to manually set the systemsetting to the desired value. Performing these steps on many systemsbecomes a very labor-intensive process. Furthermore, performing thesesteps on different platforms requires a great deal of proficiency usingthe different platform administration agents 112. The prior art providesno known way to specify a desired system configuration, and toautomatically update all systems to match the desired systemconfiguration. This is the beauty and function of the present invention,discussed in detail below.

2. Detailed Description

An apparatus and method in accordance with the preferred embodimentsprovides a consistent interface for administrating different platformtypes, and provides a way to automatically update configuration settingsto match the settings of a model system. The system administrator mayspecify a model system, either by specifying a settings profile as themodel system or by selecting an existing system on the network as themodel system. The system administrator then selects one or more endpointsystems on the network for comparison against the model system.Differences between the model system and the selected endpoint systemsare displayed on a graphical user interface. The system administratormay then select certain endpoint systems for updating, and the systemconfiguration manager then updates the selected endpoint systems tomatch the settings of the model system. The system configuration managerincludes a configuration mapping mechanism to perform mapping ofconfiguration information across platforms and to the model system.

Referring to FIG. 2, a networked computing system 200 in accordance withthe preferred embodiments includes a system administration workstation210 coupled to a central system 220, which is in turn coupled toendpoint systems 230 (such as 230A, 230B, 230C and 230N shown in FIG.2). System administration workstation 210 includes an administrationgraphical user interface (GUI) 212. Central system 220 includes a systemconfiguration manager 222 that includes model configuration settings 224and a configuration mapping mechanism 226. Model configuration settingsare settings that may be used as a model for other computer systems onthe network. In one example, model configuration settings are set by auser entering information into an editor to specify a particular“settings profile” that defines the configuration settings for the modelsystem. In another example, a user may select one particular computersystem on the network, and its configuration settings are then read andbecome the configuration settings for the model system. The preferredembodiments expressly extends to any mechanism or method for definingconfiguration settings for a model system.

Configuration mapping mechanism 226 is used to map configurationsettings from one format to a different format. For example, the modelsystem may be a settings profile that is generic in the sense that it isnot specific to any particular computing platform. In this case, theconfiguration mapping mechanism 226 would perform required mappingfunctions from platform-specific configuration settings to the genericconfiguration settings for the model system. In addition, theconfiguration mapping mechanism 226 would also perform mapping in thereverse direction, namely mapping between the generic configurationsettings and corresponding configuration settings for each platform typethat requires updating. Furthermore, the configuration mapping mechanism226 could perform mapping directly from configuration settings on afirst platform to corresponding configuration settings on a secondplatform. This function is especially useful when an existing computersystem on the network is selected as the model system. In sum, theconfiguration mapping mechanism 226 could perform any required mappingof configuration settings from one type to another.

Each endpoint computer system includes configuration settings 240. Inaddition, each endpoint computer system 240 preferably includes anendpoint action program 140 that receives the request to updateconfiguration settings 240 from the system configuration manager 222 andthat reports the status of the requested update to system configurationmanager 222. Thus, endpoint system #1 230A in FIG. 2 has correspondingconfiguration settings 240A and a corresponding endpoint action program140A. Each of the other endpoint systems 230 may also have correspondingconfiguration settings 240 and endpoint action program 140.

The term “configuration settings” is a broad term that is used herein tomean any setting on a computer system that “configures” the computersystem. Referring to FIG. 3, examples of some configuration settings aresystem settings 140A and customization settings 242. System settings140A are setup parameters in an operating system that determine how theendpoint system will operate. Note that system settings 140A in FIG. 3are the same as system settings 140A in FIG. 1. In other words, theconfiguration settings 240 of the preferred embodiments include thesystem settings 140A that are setup using the dedicated tools for eachplatform, as is known in the art and discussed above with reference toFIG. 1. In addition, the configuration settings 240 includecustomization settings 242. The term “customization settings” is a broadterm that means anything on the computer system 240 that may beconfigured and that is not a system setting 140A. Customization settings242 may determine how a software application runs; how a desktop on agraphical user interface looks; which bookmarks are available in a webbrowser, etc. Customization settings 242 may include virtually anyparameter that is not a system setting that may be configured to affectthat operation of computer system 240.

One key advantage of the preferred embodiments disclosed herein is theability to not only set system settings 140A, but to also setcustomization settings 242. Let's assume that a company has a graphicalscreen saver with the company logo, and mandates that each employee usethe company's screen saver for the sake of consistency and for thepurpose of having a uniform look when clients are present. Systemconfiguration manager 222 could be used to periodically (i.e., once aweek or every night) set the screen saver for each endpoint computersystem to the company logo screen saver. In another example, let'sassume that the company has a list of frequently-accessed web sites thatare useful for most employees. The company could define a bookmarkfolder that includes this list of web sites. Using the systemconfiguration manager 222 of the preferred embodiments, the companycould update the bookmark folder to include new web sites or to deleteold web sites, and could then update each endpoint system with the newbookmark folder. In yet another example, for a server computer system,performance tuning can be performed, such as setting the maximum numberof jobs running on the server computer system. In this manner eachendpoint system is updated with the new bookmarks in an efficientmanner. The ability to easily change both system settings andconfiguration settings makes system configuration manager 222 a verypowerful tool that allows efficient administration of computer systemson a network.

Another advantage of the preferred embodiments is that systemconfiguration manager 222 provides a consistent interface (namely, GUI212) for administration of different computer platforms. Theconfiguration mapping mechanism 226 is used to translate a configurationsetting for one platform into a corresponding configuration setting fora different platform, or into a corresponding configuration setting fora generic model system that is platform-independent. One way to providesupport for all platforms is to provide a GUI 212 that displays asuperset of all configuration settings for all platforms. This allowsthe same GUI 212 to be used in administrating configuration settings fordifferent platforms on the network.

Referring to FIG. 4, a computer system 400 in accordance with thepreferred embodiment is an IBM iSeries computer system. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms and apparatus ofthe present invention apply equally to any computer system, regardlessof whether the computer system is a complicated multi-user computingapparatus. a single user workstation, or an embedded control system.Computer system 400 is one suitable implementation for central system220 in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 4, computer system 400 comprises aprocessor 410, a main memory 420, a mass storage interface 430, adisplay interface 440, and a network interface 450. These systemcomponents are interconnected through the use of a system bus 460. Massstorage interface 430 is used to connect mass storage devices (such as adirect access storage device 455) to computer system 400. One specifictype of direct access storage device 455 is a readable and writableCDROM drive, which may store data to and read data from a CDROM 495.

Main memory 420 in accordance with the preferred embodiments containsdata 422, an operating system 424, and system configuration manager 222.In the preferred embodiments, system configuration manager 222 includesmodel configuration settings 224 and configuration mapping mechanism226. Note that system configuration manager 222 in FIG. 4 is shown tocontain the model configuration settings 224 and configuration mappingmechanism 226, but these items 224 and 226 could also be providedseparate from system configuration manager 222 within the scope of thepreferred embodiments. Note that the model configuration settings 224and configuration mapping mechanism 226 are discussed above withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Computer system 400 utilizes well known virtual addressing mechanismsthat allow the programs of computer system 400 to behave as if they onlyhave access to a large, single storage entity instead of access tomultiple, smaller storage entities such as main memory 420 and DASDdevice 455. Therefore, while data 422, operating system 424, and systemconfiguration manager 222 are shown to reside in main memory 420, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that these items are not necessarilyall completely contained in main memory 420 at the same time. It shouldalso be noted that the term “memory” is used herein to generically referto the entire virtual memory of computer system 400.

Data 422 represents any data that serves as input to or output from anyprogram in computer system 400. Operating system 424 is a multitaskingoperating system known in the industry as OS/400; however, those skilledin the art will appreciate that the spirit and scope of the presentinvention is not limited to any one operating system.

Processor 410 may be constructed from one or more microprocessors and/orintegrated circuits. Processor 410 executes program instructions storedin main memory 420. Main memory 420 stores programs and data thatprocessor 410 may access. When computer system 400 starts up, processor410 initially executes the program instructions that make up operatingsystem 424. Operating system 424 is a sophisticated program that managesthe resources of computer system 400. Some of these resources areprocessor 410, main memory 420, mass storage interface 430, displayinterface 440, network interface 450, and system bus 460.

Although computer system 400 is shown to contain only a single processorand a single system bus, those skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe present invention may be practiced using a computer system that hasmultiple processors and/or multiple buses. In addition, the interfacesthat are used in the preferred embodiment each include separate, fullyprogrammed microprocessors that are used to off-load compute-intensiveprocessing from processor 410. However, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the present invention applies equally to computersystems that simply use I/O adapters to perform similar functions.

Display interface 440 is used to directly connect one or more displays465 to computer system 400. These displays 465, which may benon-intelligent (i.e., dumb) terminals or fully programmableworkstations, are used to allow system administrators and users tocommunicate with computer system 400. Note, however, that while displayinterface 440 is provided to support communication with one or moredisplays 465, computer system 400 does not necessarily require a display465, because all needed interaction with users and other processes mayoccur via network interface 450.

Network interface 450 is used to connect other computer systems and/orworkstations (e.g., 475 in FIG. 4) to computer system 400 across anetwork 470. The present invention applies equally no matter howcomputer system 400 may be connected to other computer systems and/orworkstations, regardless of whether the network connection 470 is madeusing present-day analog and/or digital techniques or via somenetworking mechanism of the future. In addition, many different networkprotocols can be used to implement a network. These protocols arespecialized computer programs that allow computers to communicate acrossnetwork 470. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) isan example of a suitable network protocol.

At this point, it is important to note that while the present inventionhas been and will continue to be described in the context of a fullyfunctional computer system, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the present invention is capable of being distributed as a programproduct in a variety of forms, and that the present invention appliesequally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media usedto actually carry out the distribution. Examples of suitable signalbearing media include: recordable type media such as floppy disks and CDROM (e.g., 495 of FIG. 4), and transmission type media such as digitaland analog communications links.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a method 500 in accordance with the preferredembodiments begins by collecting configuration settings 510 from allendpoint systems (step 510). Note that step 510 may include the mappingof configuration settings. The configuration settings for a model systemare defined (step 520). There are many suitable ways to defineconfiguration settings for a model system. For example, a user maysimply use an editor tool to define a “settings profile” that includesappropriate settings for any desired system settings or customizationsettings. In another example, a user can select an existing endpointsystem as the model system, and it's configuration settings will be usedas the model configuration settings. The preferred embodiments expresslyextend to any way to define model configuration settings in step 520.

The various endpoint systems are then displayed on the GUI, allowing auser to select certain (or all) of these endpoint systems for comparisonagainst the configuration settings for the model system, and displaysany differences between the configuration settings in the selectedendpoint systems and the configuration settings for the model system(step 530). Next, certain (or all) endpoint systems are selected forupdating (step 540), preferably by a user clicking on the endpointsystems to update in the GUI. Next, each endpoint system is analyzed todetermine its platform type, and the configuration settings for themodel system are then mapped to corresponding configuration settings foreach platform type (step 550). Each endpoint system is then updated withthe mapped configuration settings for its platform type (step 560).Finally, each endpoint system that was selected for updating sends thestatus of the update to the GUI (step 570). Using method 500 inconjunction with the apparatus disclosed herein, a system administratorcan easily update the configuration of multiple computer systems on anetwork to match the configuration settings for the model system. TheGUI provides a consistent interface for administrating differentplatform types, eliminating the need for a system administrator to learnthe specific administration tool for each platform. In addition, theupdating is performed automatically, without intervention by a user.Thus, if a system administrator needs to make a single change on 375different endpoint systems, the system administrator can simply defineconfiguration settings for the model system in step 520 that include theone changed parameter, and can then select all 375 endpoint systems instep 540, and each of these 375 endpoint systems will be updated in step560. In the prior art, each endpoint system would have to beindividually and manually changed using a dedicated administration toolfor that type of platform.

Note that not all of the steps in method 500 of FIG. 5 are required topractice the present invention. For example, the reporting of statusinformation in step 570 is optional. In addition, the steps of method500 may be suitably split or combined into different steps within thescope of the preferred embodiments. The invention is defined by theclaims herein, not be the specific method steps shown in FIG. 5. Method500 is shown as one suitable implementation within the scope of thepreferred embodiments.

One example of a suitable display panel 610 is shown in FIG. 6, andcould be a display panel presented to a user by administration GUI 212in FIG. 2. Panel 610 includes a drop-down list 620 for selecting a modelsystem. In the preferred embodiments, drop-down list 620 includes eachendpoint system and also includes a “customize” button that invokes aneditor and allows a user to define a profile of configuration settings(referred to herein as a “settings profile”). A box 630 displays variousdefined configuration settings. A drop-down box 632 allows selecting adefined category of configuration settings. Box 634 allows the user toselect that only the differences between the model system and theselected endpoint systems are displayed. In the example in FIG. 6, thedefined categories of configuration settings are: audit control, auditjournal error action, maximum journal entries before writing, securityaction audit level, and default auditing for newly created objects. Eachof these defined categories include check boxes for selecting whichparameters are compared and updated. Thus, we see that the term“configuration settings” includes any portion or all of theconfiguration settings for a particular computer system. Another box 640displays the endpoint systems that are selected, and their differenceswhen compared to the model configuration settings. For the specificexample in FIG. 6, the target system System1 has one difference relatingto object creation, while the target system System2 has no differencewhen compared to the model configuration settings.

We assume that the user selects System1 as the only endpoint system toupdate, and the user then clicks OK button 650. In response, theplatform type of System1 is determined and compared with the platformtype of the model system. If the model system and selected endpointsystems have different platform types, the configuration mappingmechanism will map the model configuration settings to correspondingconfiguration settings for each platform type. If the model system andselected endpoint systems are of the same platform type, theconfiguration mapping mechanism is not needed, and the configurationsettings of each selected endpoint system are updated to reflect thevalues of configuration settings in the model system. If the user clicksthe schedule button 652 instead of the OK button 650, the user can thenschedule when the update will occur. Clicking on the close button 654results in closing panel 610 without saving changes. Help button 656 isused to invoke help in dealing with display panel 610.

FIGS. 7-24 show various different system settings defined in the OS/400operating system. FIG. 7 lists the auditing category of system settings.FIG. 8 lists the system settings for date and time. FIG. 9 lists thedevices category of system settings. FIG. 10 lists the library listscategory of system settings. FIG. 1 lists the international category ofsystem settings. FIG. 12 lists the jobs category of system settings.FIG. 13 lists the messages and logging category of system settings. FIG.14 lists the password category of system settings. FIG. 15 lists theperformance category of system settings. FIG. 16 lists the powercategory of system settings. FIG. 17 lists the printing category ofsystem settings. FIG. 18 lists the restart category of system settings.FIG. 19 lists the security category of system settings. FIG. 20 liststhe sign-on category of system settings. FIG. 21 lists the storagecategory of system settings. FIG. 22 lists the system controls categoryof system settings. FIG. 23 lists the management central per endpointsystem category of system settings. And FIG. 24 lists the managementcentral per central system category of system settings. These specificsystem settings in FIGS. 7-24 are shown as one suitable example ofsystem settings for the OS/400 platform that may be set by the systemconfiguration manager 222 in accordance with the preferred embodiments.These system settings will be familiar to one skilled in the art who hasexperience with systems settings for the OS/400 platform.

FIG. 25 illustrates the function of the configuration mapping mechanism226 of the preferred embodiments. The configuration mapping mechanism226 must know the platform type of the configuration settings being readand must know the platform type of the output. In one suitableimplementation, configuration mapping mechanism 226 is invoked by systemconfiguration manager 222 passing the configuration setting to be mapped2510, the source platform type 2520, and the target platform type 2530.The configuration mapping mechanism 226 then determines theconfiguration setting for the target platform 2530 that corresponds tothe configuration setting to be mapped 2510 from the source platformtype 2520, and outputs that mapped configuration setting 2540. Note thatthe term “platform type” includes not only types of physical computerplatforms on the network, but may also include a model “settingsprofile” that defines hardware-independent configuration settings thatcan then be mapped to any suitable platform.

One suitable example to illustrate the function of configuration mappingmechanism 226 is mapping between configuration settings in an IBMiSeries platform (running the OS/400 operating system) and correspondingconfiguration settings in a Microsoft Windows2000 platform. The “decimalformat” configuration setting in the IBM iSeries platform could bemapped to the “decimal symbol” configuration setting in the Windows2000platform. The “locale” configuration setting in the IBM iSeries platformcould be mapped to the “input locale” configuration setting in theWindows2000 platform. Similarly, the “language/country” configurationsetting in the IBM iSeries platform could be mapped to the “your locale”configuration setting in the Windows2000 platform. These few examplesare shown to illustrate the general concept of mapping betweenconfiguration settings on one platform to corresponding configurationsettings on a different platform, and the configuration mappingmechanism 226 expressly extends to any suitable mapping betweenconfiguration settings on different platforms.

The embodiments and examples set forth herein were presented in order tobest explain the present invention and its practical application and tothereby enable those skilled in the art to make and use the invention.However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the foregoingdescription and examples have been presented for the purposes ofillustration and example only. The description as set forth is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light ofthe above teaching without departing from the spirit and scope of theforthcoming claims.

1. A method for managing configuration settings for a plurality ofcomputer systems coupled together via a network, the method comprisingthe steps of: (A) defining configuration settings for a model system;(B) determining differences, if any, between the configuration settingsfor at least one of the plurality of computer systems and theconfiguration settings for the model system; (C) selecting at least oneof the plurality of computer systems for updating; and (D) updating theconfiguration settings for the selected at least one computer systemaccording to the configuration settings for the model system.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein step (A) comprises the step of selecting oneof the plurality of computer systems as the model system, therebydefining the configuration settings for the one computer system as theconfiguration settings for the model system.
 3. The method of claim 1wherein step (A) comprises the step of defining a configuration settingsprofile that includes the configuration settings for the model system.4. The method of claim 1 wherein step (B) comprises the steps of:collecting configuration settings from at least one computer systemselected from the plurality of computer systems; and comparing theconfiguration settings from the selected at least computer system withthe configuration settings for the model system.
 5. The method of claim4 wherein step (B) further comprises the steps of: displaying to a userany differences between the configuration settings from the selected atleast one computer system with the configuration settings for the modelsystem.
 6. The method of claim 4 wherein step (C) comprises the stepsof: displaying to a user any differences between the configurationsettings from the selected at least one computer system with theconfiguration settings for the model system; and allowing a user toselect at least one computer system to update from the selected at leastone computer system.
 7. The method of claim 4 wherein step (D) comprisesthe steps of: (D1) translating the configuration settings for the modelsystem to the configuration settings for each selected computer system;and (D2) updating each selecting computer system with the translatedconfiguration settings.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein step (D1)comprises the step of translating the configuration settings for themodel system into corresponding configuration settings for each platformtype that is included in the selected at least one computer system. 9.The method of claim 4 wherein step (D) comprises the steps of: (D1)requesting that each computer system selected for updating update itscorresponding configuration settings; and (D2) each computer systemselected for updating reporting status of the requested update.
 10. Amethod for managing configuration settings for a plurality of computersystems coupled together via a network, the method comprising the stepsof: (A) collecting configuration settings from each of the plurality ofcomputer systems; (B) defining configuration settings for a modelsystem; (C) selecting at least one of the plurality of computer systemsfor analysis; (D) determining differences, if any, between theconfiguration settings for at least one of the plurality of computersystems and the configuration settings for the model system; (E)displaying the differences on a graphical user interface; (F) selectingat least one of the plurality of computer systems for updating; (G)performing any required mapping between the configuration settings forthe model system and the configuration settings for each computer systemselected for updating; (H) updating the configuration settings for eachcomputer system selected for updating according to the configurationsettings for the model system.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein step(H) comprises the steps of: (H1) requesting that each computer systemselected for updating update its corresponding configuration settings;and (H2) each computer system selected for updating reporting status ofthe requested update.